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Gao - French-led forces have killed hundreds of militants in
fighting to reclaim northern Mali and with the rebels' last bastion secured,
France said on Tuesday it will begin withdrawing troops in March.

Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the 26-day military
intervention had killed "several hundred" militants as its air and
ground forces chased them from their northern strongholds into remote
mountainous terrain in the far northeast, near the Algerian border.

The defence ministry said the militants died in French air
strikes on vehicles transporting fighters and equipment, and in "direct
combat" in the key central and northern towns of Konna and Gao.

France's sole fatality so far has been a helicopter pilot
killed at the start of the military operation.

Mali said 11 of its troops were killed and 60 wounded after
the battle at Konna last month but has not since released a new death toll.

The Malian army took "some prisoners, not many, who
will have to answer to Malian courts and to international justice", Le
Drian said, adding that some of those detained were high-ranking militants.

France expects to begin withdrawing its soldiers from Mali
"starting in March, if all goes as planned," French Foreign Minister
Laurent Fabius told daily newspaper Metro in an interview published Wednesday.

"France has no intention of remaining in Mali for the
long-term. It is up to the Africans and to the Malians themselves to guarantee
the country's security, territorial integrity and sovereignty."

While asserting that the "narco-terrorists have been
stopped", the top French diplomat stressed that "there could always
be individual actions" and all players must remain on their guard as
"the risk is always present".

Anti-terrorism co-ordination

At least 4 000 French troops are currently deployed in Mali,
and the former colonial ruler is keen to hand over the operation to African
forces amid warnings the militants could now launch a prolonged insurgency.

The French defence ministry said Kidal - the last town to
fall of those seized by al-Qaeda-linked fighters who occupied northern Mali for
10 months - was now under the control of French forces and some 1 800 Chadian
troops.

The rebels have fled to the Adrar des Ifoghas massif around
Kidal, a craggy mountain landscape honeycombed with caves where they are
believed to be holding seven French hostages.

One of the militant groups, the Movement for Oneness and
Jihad in West Africa (Mujao), said it had attacked military positions in Gao,
the largest city in the north - a claim denied by west African forces.

An ethnic Tuareg group formerly allied with the militants,
the Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA), meanwhile said it had retaken
Menaka, a town previously claimed by French-led forces.

A Malian security source confirmed the Tuareg group was in
the town 80km from the Niger border, which Nigerien troops had taken from
militant occupiers but then left as they continued their advance.

The MNLA - which originally fought alongside the militants
but then fell out with them - earlier said it was working with France against
"terrorists" in the region.

"In the framework of anti-terrorist co-ordination put
in place with French forces," the MNLA will provide intelligence on
"top terrorist officials" they have arrested, a spokesman said in
Burkina Faso.

Functional relations

The group said it was responsible for Sunday's arrest of two
militant leaders, Mohamed Moussa Ag Mohamed, the number three in Ansar Dine
(Defenders of the Faith), and Oumeini Ould Baba Akhmed of Mujao.

The MNLA launched a rebellion a year ago fighting for an
independent state for the desert nomad Tuareg people, who have long felt
marginalised by Mali's government.

But, after being chased from their strongholds by the
militants, they have voiced a willingness to negotiate since France intervened.

With France eager to shed some of the military burden and 8 000
pledged African troops being deployed at a slow trickle, observers have said
Paris is likely examining whether the MNLA is a possible partner.

Le Drian said France had "functional relations"
with the group in Kidal but that fighting terrorists alongside them was
"not our objective."

In France, President Francois Hollande urged Europe to fight
drug trafficking in west Africa, telling the European Parliament that
"terrorism feeds on narcotics trafficking."

And in Brussels, global players including the United Nations
and African Union met to carve out plans for Mali's future once the 26-day-old
offensive draws to an end, urging elections - which Mali's interim government
has promised by 31 July - and a national dialogue.

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